Get the tools for the job
Making the most of the AIC website
Compass readers will know that the AIC website has a range of tools to help investors research, compare and keep track of investment trusts. Now we’ve made a series of short video tutorials to show you how to get the most out of them.
If you’re researching investment trusts, the AIC’s Compare companies tool is a good place to start. You can quickly filter the universe of investment trusts by criteria such as sector or geography, then sort them by measures including performance, discount and dividend yield. It’s the easiest way to narrow down the trusts that might be worth investigating further.
Once you’ve found a company you’re interested in, its company profile brings together key information in one place, including performance, dividends, discounts, charges, portfolio information, documents, research and news.
You can also use the interactive chart to compare trusts over different time periods. Add another trust, a sector average or a Morningstar index to see how performance has differed and explore measures such as share price and discount over time.
If you’re following a few trusts, My portfolios allows you to create your own lists and tailor the information you want to see. You can use the portfolio tools to monitor holdings, explore potential income with income finder, and keep track of upcoming dividend payments with dividend diary. Income finder, for example, lets you see which trusts pay dividends in particular months which is useful if you’re looking to build an income stream throughout the year.
Once you’ve found the trusts you want to follow, My alerts can help you keep on top of them. You can set up alerts for individual trusts or whole portfolios and receive a single daily email covering relevant price and discount movements, company reports, dividends and announcements.
There’s also our new Geographic analysis feature, which lets you explore where investment trusts invest around the world, from broad regions down to individual countries.
Tools such as My portfolios and My alerts require an AIC website account to use. But don’t worry if you don’t have one, you can set one up in seconds and it’s completely free to use!
Watch our new tutorials
If you haven’t used these tools before (or you’re not sure you’re making the most of them) we’ve produced six short video tutorials to guide you through them step by step.
The series covers comparing investment companies, company profiles, the interactive chart, registering for an AIC website account and creating a portfolio, portfolio tools (including income finder) and our email notification service, My alerts.
The videos are designed to be quick and practical, so you can watch a tutorial and then try the tool for yourself. You can watch all the video tutorials in one place here, or explore all the AIC’s research tools.
Whether you’re starting your research, looking for income or simply keeping an eye on your existing investments, you’ll find plenty to help you on the AIC website. As regular Compass readers will know, investment trusts have a long and distinguished record when it comes to paying dividends.
